a good 2008

I woke up today feeling a little nostalgic... 2008 was huge for us, I actually remember being a little nervous this time last year as to what was all going to go down in a matter of months. Of course Thad chuckled at me as I ate my cereal and watched the Today show tell me "how to spruce up my New Years outfit by using old accessories". I just started thinking about the year and the year to come. I think new years resolutions are fun- whether you keep them and do them is one thing but it is smart to acknowledge things you'd like to do more often. For instance on our run this morning, I told Thad that I want to save $1.00 a day. I don't think that's too much to spare and in a month's time you saved about 30 bucks. Thad said he would like to do more 5-10 minute jobs each day so on the weekends they don't seem so overwhelming. We'll see.
The point of my blog was I wanted to quickly jot down some highlights of this year for us. No particular order just what comes to mind. In 2008 we/I.....

-got married!
-traveled to Costa Rica
-Abby came into our lives
-went to see John Mayer
- went to see New Kids on the Block
- was on the Ellen show
-there was a fire at my school
-friends and family came to visit us pre wedding
-jen malone lived with us for a month pre wedding
- traveled to San Fran for Jillian and Adam's wedding
-Uncle Bobby came to visit 2x
-Michael was deployed and returned safely.
-partied at John and richelle's wedding
-Luke broke his wrist
-we moved
-I had 3 (yes 3!!) amazing bridal showers
- Thad hiked half dome on his bachelor party
-went to Speedracer premiere
-got a big t.v!
-watched Jason Lezak win that relay for the U.S on our honeymoon.
-Michael Phelps
-We voted for a new president.
-Barack Obama

There are a few special babies due in the next few weeks, 2 of our friends weddings, Jesse and Mike taking a big trip and many more fun little tidbits. Happy New Year!

Love,
The Bakers :)

-

Merry Christmas

We are having a wonderful Christmas Eve, relaxing just like we wanted it. We are heading out to dinner here in a little bit and then going to Candy Cane Lane, a neighborhood filled with decorated houses. That reminds me to go charge my camera!!! I hope Santa is good to all!

Our first married tree!!!!

And boy do I love it. First of- I have never had a real tree so that was exciting in itself. The three of us went to Home Depot to pick it out, we got this great guy who must of unwrapped about 10 trees for me to compare. He was a trooper and in the end I gave in and we took home Thad's pick. I figured he had a better eye for "the one". After a few days of letting it sit we finally decorated it. We are both such nerds about the placement of different ornaments that it was joint project. So here are the pics...

Happy Birthday Jess!!

I hope you have a wonderful day! We're thinking about you all the time and I am so blessed to have another sister. Happy Birthday to you Jesse!!!! We love you!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. I'm sad it's almost over. My students performed the annual Turkeys Go On Strike play- went off great other than the rain. Thursday the 3 of us went for a nice turkey dinner at our neighbor's house- it was cut a little short when our dear Abby had an accident in the house and my eye blew up like Rocky due to an allergic reaction to their smoky house- needless to say we all took showers and were in bed pretty early. Friday we went for a nice long run, Thad went to see Bond (eh, he says) and then we pulled out all of the Christmas stuff. I know it seems a little soon but it takes so long to do and you only get a little while to enjoy it so we are the first people on our block to be lit up. Today we got up early- went to the gym, watched Mizzou- Sorry Jess, that was a tough loss. and started Christmas shopping. Now Thad is at the grocery store getting stuff to make baked ziti tonight- yum! and then an Abby walk and then going to see Four Christmases tonight.
Tomorrow we have a play date at the dog park- Then Abby starts her Puppy Kindergarten Level 2 tomorrow.
Monday- Back to work!

tag

Where is your cell phone? bag

Where is your significant other? work

Your hair color? brown

Your mother? eh

Your favorite thing? laughter

Your dream last night? didn't

Your dream/goal? principal

The room you’re in? kitchen

Your hobby? baking

Your fear? jail

Where do you want to be in 6 years? mom

Where were you last night? couch

What you’re not? shy

One of your wish-list items? tiffanys

Where you grew up? NY

The last thing you did? work

What are you wearing? jeans

Your TV? new :)

Your pet? love

Your computer? fancy

Your mood? hungry

Missing someone? friends

Your car? paid

Something you’re not wearing? coat

Favorite store? Target

Your summer? wedding!!!

Love someone? Thaddeus

Your favorite color? plaid

When is the last time you laughed? today

Last time you cried? Oct.

The Kong

The Kong is one of Ab's favorite toys. We stuff it treats, secure them with peanut butter and it's supposed to occupy the dog for a good amount of time. Most dogs we've seen just lay down and dig the treats out with their mouths. Well Abby took a more novel approach. You'll see. Too cute!

Abby has been rocking the blue collar this week for Obama!

Our new toys

Needless to say we are both loving our new house additions. Thank Thank Thank you to the Harmons for your way too generous help towards Thad's tv. However, he is very quick to tell me that this tv is for sports, not Oprah.
And then with some leftover Bed Bath Beyond gift cards, a 20% off coupon, and an additional 15% percent for registering there we finally broke down and got a Dyson. I LOVE IT! It is amazing. I love seeing the dirt and the ridiculous amount of dog hair it picks up. I can speak for both of us when I say money well spent.

Saturdays

I love them. I love Friday nights into Saturdays even more. I love this weekend even more because I have off Monday and Tuesday for Veterans Day. I'll take that. Thad is in San Francisco this weekend playing rugby, I was going to go but I have a few things here that I should get done without dragging the hubby with me. I just got back from a really long run with Abby, we met a black lab and his owner Carrie who ironically worked with Thaddeus on Mr. & Mrs. Smith. We are meeting up again tomorrow at the dog park for a play date. So, now I'm home, eating my sandwich, laundry is in, about to take a shower and head off to Target. I love Saturdays!!!!

I was Jordan's girl...

Hey all- I have so much to blog about but one thing at a time right. So I was very excited to hear that New Kids were making a comeback- I loved them back in the day. I was such a dork, downloading all my old faves and TiVoing everything with their name in it. Thad was so happy for me when my friends from work and I bought our tickets to their concert. I don't think 13th row (side view) is that bad for $86. They played all of their old stuff- the average age was a 29 year old female. Enjoy my Jordan. Who were you????

fall weather in California

We had a beautiful "fall" weekend here in Los Angeles. Thad and I thrive on anything below 70 when we can wear sweatshirts and keep the windows open rather than the air conditioner. Saturday, we (thad) watched some college football on his beautiful new t.v- that will be a post in itself and I took Abby to her puppy kindergarten graduation. Yes, I'm obsessed!
Sunday we all went for a long run (we needed it!) in Santa Monica then came back to run some errands in our neighborhood. It was a perfect day to pick a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch. God Bless California people, they try really hard to make it feel like fall.


So today Monday started like any other day for us. When I turned on the news this morning to check traffic and weather, they were reporting on a large brush fire about 15 miles away from us. Very common this time of year, still warm, no rain, and huge Santa Ana gusts of wind. Every October there is some sort of fire in the area and where I work in Simi Valley is a basic fire trap. So the day is moving nicely, again I'm aware of the fire from this morning but not thinking that we are right in the mist of it. Our principal called into my classroom this morning to say it would be an inside day due to the air quality and like most teachers you sometimes don't even leave your room to go to the bathroom. So... when I went to took my students to music class at 11:30 I saw that Armagedon was coming!





That last picture I took as I was pulling out of the parking lot. I was told to go home at 1:00 because the freeways were closing by the minute and I needed to get on the road. I'm home now, we live far from the fires but the smoke is creeping into our Sherman Oaks blue skies very quickly. I just pray that all the students and their homes in Simi Valley are safe. Crazy!

So fun...

Heading to Costa Rica

Finally.... check back in tomorrow for more pics. These are just us arriving. Sorry, I've kind of been in wedding "did that really happen" mode. I'm slowly starting to sift through pictures and organize a bit! More to come!

Some favorite pics...

I know it's about time to sit down and write out a whole long blog about our amazing wedding and then write another about our fabulous trip to Costa Rica! I will, I promise! But while you wait I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite pictures that our photographer just sent us. I have been having such a great time seeing everyone's photos, now if I can just upload them all to kodak would be nice. These are just a few sweet ones...





Don't know why the pics are so small... Stay tuned!

Happy 6 month birthday Abby!

I just wanted to give an update to anyone out there reading that our sweet baby girl is now 6 months! She's a whole 51 lbs. and we hope she'll slow down for a moment for us to enjoy this size! Some of her favorite things to do are: chew on her bones and toys, wrestle with her dad, sleep on the cold bathroom floor, and swim!!!! I am so excited that I have a pup that loves the water with me. She literally does canon balls into the pool. The best part is, after a day of swimming she pooped for days!




In other Abby news, yesterday she went in to get her womanhood snipped. I know it is the best things for her and us, I just was not ready for surgery. I am so glad that we waited until after the wedding/honeymoon to take care of this. I was a wreck yesterday as I was checking the box to please do anything to save her life. I dropped her off at 8:00 a.m. and picked her up at 5:00. There were a few things we had to do for her last night, most importantly make sure she doesn't jump and open up the incision. Oh and we were expecting her to be wearing a cone for a few days... nope they would rather your dog wear a t-shirt so they don't look strange to other dogs out on walks. Thad hates it. Today we had a very mellow day, she did not play with her toys, just watched the Olympics with me! However, tonight she was back in the trash can looking for scraps! Glad you're feeling better! We love you Abigail!

I like games like this!

Jesse and Kelly tagged me, so I guess it's my turn. How it works:
1. Post the rules of the game at the beginning.
2. Each player answers questions about themselves
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and post their names, then goes to their blogs and leave them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read the players blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answers

Where were you 5 years ago?
How funny.. almost to the day. I was packing my life up to head out west to Los Angeles. My best friend Jen and her college buddy Gogger had already been driving for a week.

What are 5 things on your to do list for today?
I am going to pretend this is my list for tomorrow because today is already spoken for.
1. Go to the gym.
2. Go to Bed Bath and Beyond to use a few gift cards!!!
3. Go to Petco to get Abby her food.
4. Call the vet and schedule her "fixing".
5. Watch the Olympics and The Hills... I know it's silly but I love it.

What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
1. Pretzels
2. Chocolate chip cookies
3. Hummus and pita chips
4. sliced apples and peanut butter
5. wheat thins

What are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?
1. Pay off all of our bills.
2. Buy a house.. or 3.
3. Travel.
4. Have a huge Christmas and give gifts to everyone in your life that you would like to give to.
5. Start a school for children with physical disabilities.


What are five of your bad habits ?
1. Having no patience.
2. Being a control freak.. part of me can't help it. I'm an elementary teacher!
3. Nagging my poor husband!
4. Not wanting to clean the tub.
5. Eating too many cookies in one sitting!

What are five places you've lived?
1. Williston Park, NY
2. Mineola, NY
3. Slippery Rock, PA
4. Hermosa Beach, CA
5. Sherman Oaks, CA

What are 5 jobs you've had?
1. Standard Law Police store
2. TCBY
3. Lifeguard
4. Swimming teacher
5. 3rd grade teacher


Five people I tag.
Well... all the people I know on blogger have already been tagged so I will just read everyone elses!

Here's Abby!!!

March huh??? Has it really been that long????
Well I couldn't wait anymore and had to post some pictures of our new puppy. She is about 3 months old, a creamy yellow lab who I'm told will be about 75-85 pounds. Why can't they stay this size for a just a bit longer. She has grown so much just in the past two weeks.
She is a total puppy, chews everything but her chew toys, loves treats, does that cute little gallop, and goes to the bathroom every hour or so. We are such new parents, so proud of her and when Thad and I talk at the end of the night we talk about Abby. She is so fun!

This week I took her to the vet to give a urine sample because she is going way too many times in an hour and it came back that she does have a UTI- for all those girls out there you know annoying that can be! She will be starting her meds within the next day or two.

I have so many cute pics of her on my phone so if anyone would like to share with me how to get those pictures on to my computer I'd appreciate it.

And the next thing on the list is moving to our new place...

still here!

Today I am home sick, more bored than anything. I was able to catch up on some TIVO and call a few places that I normally can't during the day. But the majority of the day was spent on the couch in my jammies drinking orange juice with my tissues.

I thought I would just take a second to put my list down on blog. We're about 4 1/2 months away and it all is coming together. So exciting!!!! Over the weekend we went and bought our wedding rings. I think Thad was most looking forward to that and he's just been messing with me!!!! Booked our DJ and narrowed it down to 2 invitations.

I'm looking forward to my trip back to NY to pick up "THE DRESS", I feel like a big movie star when I say that. I get to see my friends and cousins and all of the babies that have been born this year. YEAH! I love spring break.

Happy Easter everyone, get your plaid out.

"God Bless You Jen"

I apologize if all of the posts seem to be geared towards the wedding but it's on my mind quite a bit, in a good way, I promise.

So last weekend, my Jen Malone flew in from NY for a weekend of good times. She was such a big help going on many wedding related errands with me all weekend. Thaddeus took the time off to go to San Diego with Brenden to watch a rugby tournament. During the day, we called Thad once to see if he was going to be home for dinner with us and he ended the conversation with her with "God Bless You Jen". Jen and I moved to CA together back in 2003 and we miss her very much. We would love a roommate again!

She got in late Friday night, on her plane was the 80's classic Cyndi Lauper (flying in for the Grammys). We woke up early Saturday and headed to do a quick cake tasting, it was 10:00 in the morning and red velvet didn't seem to appetizing but we were on a schedule and it was the only time we could fit it in.





On to Maravilla to give her a look, checked out the hotel for our guests, and then went to our first of two flowers appointments that day. The woman was great and really paid attention to everything I said, but she was a bit over our budget so we moved on.
Next we headed over to Yamaguchi flowers, a family owned flower company that grows everything they use on the property. They came highly recommended by our caterer and another bride that used them. I have to admit, I was initially not loving them because of the atmosphere. It was a run down building with ALOT of flowers everywhere and we had just came from someone's beautiful house where she had hundreds of pictures laid out for me to choose from. Yamaguchi man just wrote down chicken scratch as I impressed him and Jen with my new knowledge of flowers. After a few short minutes we loved him, his sister Susie, and their grandmother (that's all we met, there were many more) He made me a centerpiece of my colors to get a feel for a look that I liked and sent Jen and I home each with a bouquet of flowers. He came in right on budget without me even telling him what it was..... Needless to say we booked Yamaguchi man yesterday!!!



Saturday night we went to our favorite Mexican place, Casa Vega for dinner. We had the best time laughing and chatting while waiting for Thad to meet us there.

Sunday- we got up and only had a few simple things to look into. I took Jen to try on her bridesmaid dress, we looked at invitations, we went and got Leda's cupcakes which is our (Thad and I) favorite bakery. Then over a few glasses of wine we tackled the designing and the wording of our programs. So fun when you reach a point of "I don't care what it says as long as it prints!"




Monday- Jen and I, thinking we are big bad New Yorkers went to the fashion district downtown. Not a bad area, but it is VERY close to bad news as we found out. We were out looking for some silly items, ribbon in bulk, a different size vase, a headpiece for my hair trial this week, nothing really too important. We asked a policeman where a street was and he told us that we were headed to Skid Row. I think you can imagine what I am talking about, if not google Skid Row in LA, scary! We explained that we were parked there, he in a nice way said to get your car soon. We took his lead and headed to Beverly Hills for lunch. Yes two extremes. After lunch, we walked around for a bit and then I found my wedding shoes and bought them!!!! I can't show a picture of them because they are top secret like the dress!

All in all awesome weekend. We checked off many things on the list. I love you Jenny May, thanks for coming!

Stay tuned. Next post Thad and I registering at Crate and Barrel, Thad was very particular about the weight of his spoons!!!